Hold-down bracket



June 25, 1946. NELSON 2,402,769

HOLD-DOWN BRACKET Filed Sept. 20, 1944 INVENTOR 7- 5 9 4 HarryHM/san BYW, M ATTORNEYS Patented June 25, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEHOLD-DOWN BRACKET I Harry H. Nelson, New York, N. Y., assignor toLorentzen Hardware Mfg. Corp., New York, N. Y., a corporation of NewYork Application September 20, 1944, Serial No. 555,011

, 1 a a My invention relates to improvements in holddown brackets forthe bottom rail of Venetian blinds; by mean of which brackets thependant blind is restrained against inadvertent lifting, swinging orflapping. l

Various forms of hold-down brackets have been usedheretofore, but so faras I am aware none of them has, possessed all of, the character isticsthat are commercially desirable. The prior artmholdwdownbrackets havepresented one or more of the following difiiculties or limitations:specialized problems of installation in or on windew and door trim ofvarious types; disfigurement of the window or doorwith an unsightlyaccessorywhich is exposed when. the blind is elevated; the tendency ofthebracket to. snag dusters andwiping clothsemployed for cleaning thedebtor windowitrimplackof resistance to bending, and distortion underabuse; and the need for providin ia plurality of different specificforms of brackets to. take care of left and right, jamb andstillmounting. I 1

Af general object of my'invention is to provide avenenan blind hold-downbracket which obyiates all of the foregoing difiiculties and limimans. ag one' particular object of the inventionis to provide a, hold-downbracket which is susceptible of facile installation.

i Another object of my invention isto provide 7 a Single bracket whichis of universal constructiorni.v e.,' so constructed that a pair ofidentical bracketsmay be installed, one at the left and thejotherat theright lower corner of the blind area, either upon the jamb or sill ofthe light ,L

opening to be shrouded. g ,It is a further object of my invention toprovide a Yen'etian blind hold-down bracket which 'ijs sightly whenfully exposed toview due to elevation of the blind slats. I y

"ItQisanother object of my invention to provide a venetian blindhold-down bracket which is free fromtendency to snag clothing, dusters,wiping Cloths, and. other objects which may come into contact therewith.

Additional object of myinvention are to provide a hold -down bracket forVenetian blinds which is inherently strong and resistant to bendingandbuckling under conditions of use and abuse; which is inexpensive tomanufacture; which may be fabricated from inexpensive sheet metalby asimple punching and pressing operation, whichcanbe mounted by means of asingle 'screw driven in the windowor door trim; and

11 Claims. (01. 160-349) for stretch in the ladder tapes of theassociated blind) affords engagement with the bottom rail of the blindat more than a single level.

Further objects, and objects relating to details and economies ofmanufacture, installation and use will more definitely appear from thedetailed description to follow.

My invention is clearly defined in the appended claims. In the claims,as well as in the description, parts are identified by specific namesfor convenience, but such nomenclature is intended which, for somepurposes (such as compensation to be as generic, in its application tosimilar parts, as the prior art will permit. The best form in which Ihave contemplated applying my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a corner of a window casing providedwith a hold-down bracket constituting a preferred embodiment of myinvention, said bracket being secured to the left jamb of the windowcasing with a single wood screw;

Figure 2 is an edgewise view, in elevation, of a similar hold-downbracket secured to the sill of a window casing, the bracket being set insomewhat from the corner of the window casing to accommodate a blind oflesser width, and the wood screw being inserted through the foot of thebracket instead of through the body thereof as in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view, in side elevation, of the type of bracketillustrated in Figures 1 and 2, but installed on the exterior face ofthe window casing;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the bracket illustrated inperspective in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an edgewise view of the bracket illustrated in Figure 4,showing the offset braced character of its body portion;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the said brackat; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line '|T of Figure5 depicting, on an enlarged scale, the formation of the screw-receptive,non-rotating foot portion thereof.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the severalviews.

My invention relates to Venetian blinds of the type having a bottom railor heavy slat on each end of which is mounted an outwardly-extendinggudgeon pin. In a broad sense, my invention may be said to findembodiment in a unique bracket to be secured (one at each side of thelower extremity of the blind) upon the adjacent door or window trim andto he engageable, re-

the right or the left side of the blind. Further-s;

more, the bracket structure is preferably provided with two mountingportions, one at right angles" t the other, so that the bracket mayv besecured I upon either the jamb or the sill ofa-window ordoor casing, andmay be disposed upstanding thereon or outstanding therefrom. When usedin outstanding position, two levels for 'gudgeon-- pin engagement areavailable, the upper normally being used and the lower, located some /8"therebelow, being desirable for use when stretch has occurred in theladder tapesof the blind after long service. In its preferred form, thebracket isapproximately of L configuration; the foot serving as amounting flange receptive of a conventional wood-screw or the like, andthe standing portion being punched and pressed to define an insetterminal flange provided with a notch formation for gudgeon-pinreception and retention. ,The notch] formation i preferably double innature, a notch disposed ateach" side. of the center line of thebracket, and the portion of the inset terminal flange which lies betweensaid notches is extended to constituteasimilarly inset stop andpin-guide effective to direct the gudgeon pin into one ofsaidnotcheswhich is appropriate to the left .or right-hand mountedposition of the bracket The thus-constituted pin stop and guideis'forined integralwith the standing portion proper of the bracket aswell as with the inset flange thereof andthus serves the additionalfunction of a bracket stiffening member. The two notches of thebracketare directed obliquely of its longitudinal axis and diverge so that agudgeon pin held against the pin stop is guided to'enter'theappropriate'notch with equal facility'and security, regardless ofwhether the bracket be located at the left or. right side of the blind,and regardless ofwh'ether the bracket be mounted upstandingly oroutstandingly. v

In Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawing, I have 4 stop and guide fordirecting the gudgeon pin into one or the other of the slots and I6,depending upon the side from which the associable gudgeon pin is passedunder the flange l4. Usually the pin is directed toward the window ordoor, to effect anchorage of the bottom rail III, with the result thatthe outboard slotflof the ,bracket will be employed for engagement withthe left hand gudgeon pin (as depicted in Fig. l) and the slot l6 (whichassumes the outboard position in the case of right side mounting) willbe em- ..ployed for engagement with the right hand gudgeonpin (notshown) of the blind. In both instances (right and left hand bracketinstallations) 3,. central web portion I! will serve the pin-stop andguiding function stated.

In the jamb installation of Fig. 1, the mounting maybe made with asingle wood screw l8 extending through the conical screw seat I! formedin the portion l2 of the bracket. Turning of the bracketabout the screw[8 is precluded by the fiatwise abutment of the foot portion I! with thesill B of the window casing. The bracket is not, however, limited tosuch jamb mounting but may be secured in contact solely with the sill \Bof the casing, as illustrated in Fig. 2. This is especially desirablewhere the blind is narrower than the window or other opening to beshrouded and the bracket is spaced fromthe lamb. In Fig. 2

the wood screw I8 is employed through the conical seat 20 of the footportion 13 of the bracket and twisting of the bracket about they screwas an axis is precluded by a plurality of projections 2| which areembossed in the foot portion and which are caused to penetrate orotherwise key into the sill B when the screw! 8 is drawntight.

. In Fig. 3 I'have illustrated my bracket installed on the sill Bexternally of the window opening to be shrouded. Here the screw I8 isextended through the conical seat 20 asin the form of installationdepicted in Fig, 2, but thestanding portion l2 of the bracket is mountedoutstanding from the sill. Alternatively, the bracket may be similarlydisposed, but with the foot 13 shown (secured tothe left jamb Aof a'conventional window casing) a hold-down bracket 'effective to restrainthe left end gudgeon pin l l of the bottom rail H] of a Venetian blind(shown only fragmentarily). against upward and sidewise movement. Thisbracket is formed by punching and stamping from sheet metal andconsists, generally, of a foot portion [3 adapted for abutment with asurface of a window or door casing, and a standing portion l2. The endof the standing portion which is remote from the foot I3 is bent to.form a stepped flange l4, which flange is provided with a diverging pairof notches l5 and I5 receptive, selectively, of the proximate gudgeonpin carried by the bottom rail ll] of the blind. By virtue of theinwardlystepped character of the thus-notched flange 14, the bracketserves the function of a hook for a pin II when same is slipped intoeither notch IE or it from below the step of the flange. A central webportion II extends from the flange M to the base of the standing portion[2 of the bracket and serves to brace the flange I4, The web portion ll,lying for its major extent in the plane of the inset flange [4, alsoserves as a screwed to the front (room) face of lamb A. In either case,the blind (not shown) is disposed in front of the door or window;notwithin the casing thereof. Moreover, in such instances of outsidemounting, the slot I6 is normally employed for reception of the gudgeonpin atthe left end of the bottom rail, and the slot I5 is normallyemployed for reception of the gudgeon pin at the right end of the bottomrail; it being understood that slot [5 is uppermost in the right sidebracket. Blinds thusdisposed external of the window or door opening areinherently longer and wider than blinds for internal installation inopenings of corresponding size, and the strains imposed on the laddertapes thereof (not shown) by reason of such greater extent, as well asby more frequent application of inadvertent external forces, may be suchthat stretch is usually experienced in the ladder tapes of the blindafter a lesser period of service. My bracket is particularly welladapted for use .withsuch external blinds for the reason that a secondhold-down position is available through use of the pin-stop web I! as agudgeon-pin hold-down (illustrated by the lower, dotted-line position ofthe pin 1 I in Fig. 3). The gudgeon-pin in the dotted-line positionwill, in the bracket design and size illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, lie some %'.f below that normal to use oi. the slots I! or 16as gudgeon-pin lands. Thus, a stretch of in the ladder tapes of theassociated blind (not shown) may be readily compensated by use ofthe-lower pin position available.

My bracket structure is anexceedingly simpl one, consisting as it doesof but a single piece of stamped and pressed sheet metal. It isstrong,due in large part to the expanded, box-like relationship existingbetween the standing portion l2 proper and the bridging braceconstituted by the pin stop and guide portion H. The mode of securingthe bracket upwardlyor outwardly upon sill or ,iamb at left or rightside of the blind should be clearfrom the several illustrations in thedrawing. Functionally, the inset flange M with itsnotches l and I6 is adouble internal hook member, but the configuration of the notch andother bracket surfaces, as well as the pin-guide web I! militate topreclude snagging of dust cloth or other extraneous objects thereon ortherein; The gudgeon pins ll of the bottom rail l0, conventional inVenetian blinds of current design are, however, securely held againstdissociation with the slots l5 and IS in all intended positions, as wellas with the pin-guide web ll when in the Fig. 3 dotted position.Association of the pins with the brackets, upstandingly disposed as inFigs. 1 and 2, is eifected simply by slightly depressing thebottom railagainst the tensioned support andrestraint'of theladder tapes (notshown) so that the pins H maybe moved under the inset flange M intoabutment with the pin stop [1. *Release of the bottomrail III will thenenable the leftand right hand pins H to enter the appropriate slot andI6, andbe held up therein by the elastic re-elevation of'the ladder-tapesuspendedbottom rail Ill.

Employed as an outstanding bracket; the bottom rail In of the blind isdepressed so that its gudgeon pins bear upon the top edge of the pinstop 11, and the rail is then displaced so that the left-hand pin llenters the slot N5 of the left side bracket and the right-hand pin (notshown) enters the slot 15 of the right side bracket (not shown). It willbe understood that in the right side bracket the slot I5 is at the top,while the slot I6 is at the bottom. Upon release of the rail ID fromdepression, the ladder tapes (not shown) will re-elevate the rail so asto maintain the pins in their respective slots.

It will be apparent that the bracket may be mounted on nearly any wallportion of a building or building structure. The wall portionsspecifically disclosed in this connection are the front and side facesof a window jamb and the front and top faces of a window sill, thesebeing the locations in which the bracket is most frequently mounted.However, the bracket may be similarly used in connection with a doorway,and it may be used upon a wall portion which has no opening and overwhich the blind i hung merely for masking or decorative effect. Where,in this specification and claims, reference is made to the base portionof the bracket, this expression denotes such parts of the portions l2and I3 of the bracket as are brought into bearing upon theblind-adjacent portion of the wall in the various modes of mountingherein described.

I am aware that my invention is susceptible of embodiment in brackets ofother shapes, forms and sizes than that disclosed in the accompanyingdrawing and herein described. I therefore claim my invention broadly, asindicated by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A hold-down bracket fOr engagement with a bottom-rail-carried gudgeonpin of a Venetian blind, comprising: a plate member haying a baseportion formed for mounting upon a blind-adjacent wall portion andhaving an inset flange portion provided. with a notch receptive of agudgeon pin extending outwardly from one end of the'bottom rail of theblind and effective to restrainsaid end against swinging and flappingwhen said pin is so received.

2. A hold-down bracket for engagement with a bott-om-rail-carriedgudgeon pin of a Venetian blind, comprising: a plate member having abase portion formed for mounting upon a blind-adjacent wall portion andhaving a stepped flange portion cut out to define a notch receptive of agudgeon pin extending outwardly from one end of the bottom rail of theblind and effective to restrain said end against swinging and flappingwhen said pin is so received.

3. A hold-down bracket for left or right side engagementwith acorrespondinglydocated bottom-rail-carried gudgeon pin of a Venetianblind, comprising: a plate member having a base portion formed formounting upon a blind-adjacent wall portion, having a double-notchedinwardlyoifset portion, one notch of which is receptive of theleft-hand'gudgeon pin and the other notch of which is receptive of theright-hand gudgeon pin when the bracket is mounted upon the wall at theleft or right side, selectively, of the blind, and having a web portionbetween said inwardlyoffset and base portion which web portion isinwardly offset with respect to said base portion and serves the dualfunction of bracket bracing and gudgeon-pin-guidingv into theappropriate notch.

4. A hold-down bracket for left or right side engagement with acorrespondingly-located bottom-rail-carried gudgeon pin of a Venetianblind, comprising: a sheet metal member having a double base portionright-angularly bent for mounting either upstanding or outstanding uponthe sill 0r jamb trim of a window or the like and having a notchedportion receptive of a gudgeon pin extending outwardly from one end ofthe a bottom rail of the blind and effective to restrain said endagainst swinging and flapping when said Din is so received.

5. A hold-down bracket for left or right side engagement with acorrespondingly-located bottom-rail-carried gudgeon pin of a Venetianblind, comprising: a sheet metal member having a double base portionright-angularly bent for one screw non-rotative mounting eitherupstanding or outstanding upon the sill or jamb trim of a window andhaving an inwardly-offset notched portion receptive of a gudgeon pinextending outwardly from one end of the bottom rail of the blind andeffective to restrain said end against swinging and flapping When said.pin is so received.

6. A hold-down bracket for left or right side engagement with acorrespondingly-located bottom-rail-carried gudgeon pin of a Venetianblind, comprising: a plate member having a double base portion formedfor either endwise or sidewise mounting upon the sill or jamb trim of awindow, having a double-notched inwardly-offset portion one notch ofwhich is receptive of the left-hand gudgeon pin and the other notch ofwhich is receptive of the right-hand gudgeon pin when the bracket ismounted at the left or right side respectively of the blind, and havingan inwardlyoffset web portion between said base portion and said notchedportion merging with the latter to reinforce said bracket and toconstitute a pin stop and guide for directing said gudgeon pin into theappropriate notch of said bracket when either left or right-handmounted.

7. A hold-down bracket for left or right side engagement with acorrespondingly-located bottom-rail-carried gudgeon pin of a Venetianblind, comprising: a plate member having a base portion formed formounting upon a blind-adjacent wall portion, having a double-notchedinwardlyoffset portion one notch of which is receptive of the left-handgudgeon pin and the other notch of which is receptive of the right-handgudgeon pin when the bracket is mounted'at the left or right side,respectively, of the blind, and having an inwardly-offset web portionbetween said base portion and said notched portion and merging with thelatter to constitute a pin stop and guide for directing said gudgeon pininto the appropriate notch of said bracket when either left orright-hand mounted, said bracket being formed from a single piece ofinitially flat stock punched and expanded by pressing to provide saidofiset portions in a box relationship resistant to collapse.

8. A hold-down bracket for Venetian blinds comprising a metal platepunched and expanded into box form with a flange at each end of the boxformation, the flange at one end being formed for mounting upon the trimof a window and the flange at the other end being inwardlyofiset withrespect to the main portion of the bracket and having therein formed apair of notches'for the alternative reception of a gudgeon pin disposedat the left or right end respectively of the bottom rail of the Venetianblind. V

9. A hold-down bracket for Venetian blinds comprising a sheet metalplate punched and expanded into box form with a flange at each end ofthe box formation, the flange at one end being formed for mounting uponthe trim of a window and the flange at the other end being inwardlyoffset with respect to the main portion of the bracket and havingtherein-formed a pair of noncommunicating laterally-accessible notchesfor the alternativereception of a gudgeon pin dis posed at the left orright end, respectively, of the bottom rail of the Venetian blind.

10. A hold-down bracket for one'end of the bottom rail of a Venetianblind, comprising: a sheet metal plate punched and expanded into boxform with a flange'at each end of the box formation, the flange at oneend of the box formation being formed for outstanding mounting upon ablind-adjacent wall portion and the flange at the other end of the boxformation lying in a plane inward of the main portion of the bracket andhaving a notch therein, said notch and a wall of said box formationbeing alternatively engageable with a gudg'eon pin carried by one end ofthe bottom rail of the blind, and serving to restrain movement of saidbottom rail at either of two levels.

11. A hold-down bracket structure for restraining a gudgeon-pinned'bottom rail of a Venetian blind against undesirable movement comprising!a punched sheet metalplate having a rotation-resisting wall-attachableflange portion for one-screw mounting upon either a vertical or ahorizontal surface such as offered by a window jamb or sill; and ablind-securing portion having aplurality ofgudgeon-pin-receptiverecesses selectively effective to suppress saidbottom rail to a desired one of a number of optional positions havingdistinct vertical levels relative to the point of mounting of saidbracket.

HARRY H. NELSON. a

